Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a combined furniture piece and aesthetic object and, more particularly, to a wall mountable apparatus configured to be deployed as both a folding table and hanging aesthetic apparatus.
Description of the Prior Art
The use and design of conventional tables, as furniture defined by a table top commonly embodied as a flat horizontal upper surface on which objects can be placed and which is integrated with table legs or another support structure, is well known. While many tables are define static structures with a table top fixedly mounted on the table legs (or to another support structure, such as a wall), folding tables that employ legs that selectively move between a deployed position and a storage position (where they would typically be folded up against the table top) are understood to be desirable when it is sought to make the table more portable or to make storage more convenient.
A problem which exists, however, is that even with the improved storage and portability capabilities of conventional folding tables, finding a place to stow such a table when it is not in use, particularly one in which it can be conveniently stowed and from which it can be conveniently deployed, is generally left to the ingenuity of the user under the constraints imposed by their living space. And notably, as in housing trends towards smaller, more efficient homes, the use of furniture pieces with space saving designs, including an ability to be conveniently stored or repurposed when not in use, has become more prevalent.
The use of functional art, commonly defined as aesthetic objects that serve utilitarian purposes, to enable the concurrent decorating and furnishing of living or work spaces is often intertwined with such housing trends, but also extends beyond. Indeed, the functional art trend spans the globe, and includes nearly all pricing tiers. In today's marketplace, functional art flourishes in the middle class market at retailers that feature democratic designs throughout their furniture and home design offerings. The combination of affordability, functionality, and beauty are strong selling points for millions who seek to find the perfect décor and furniture pieces for their homes. Functional art may include an array of home and lifestyle designs, including bedding and seating with built in elements (book shelves, expandable and retractable side tables, storage and even sectional, moveable pieces).
Modular furniture also falls into the category of functional art products. Whether by preference or necessity, modular units combine functional products with space saving design. Indeed, a new wave of micro-apartments have been outfitted with compact, yet aesthetically pleasing elements, from beds that fold into the wall or convert into dining tables to counter space that doubles as workspace. Furthermore, this wave has just begun, as micro-apartments and simplistic living methods spread from large international metropolitan centers to smaller cities and towns.
Considering such furnishing and décor trends, there remains a need for a functional art table apparatus that serves as a wall mounted piece of artwork that can be taken down and unfolded into a fully functional table. It would be helpful if such a functional art table apparatus was operative, once installed, to be moved without any tools between a storage position as artwork on the wall and a deployed position embodied as freestanding table. It would be additionally desirable for such a functional art table apparatus to be include a nesting apparatus on which the table was hung that included additional décor that remained visible when the functional art table was deployed.
The Applicant's invention described herein is essentially a custom piece of hanging art structured to be selectively convertible into a sturdy, folding table and back. The primary components of Applicant's wall mountable table and nesting apparatus are a nesting apparatus and a functional art table, enabling wall mountable table and nesting apparatus. As it can be described as functional art, combining décor with function, when in use, the wall mountable table and nesting apparatus can provide both the utility of a conventional table and the convenience of a folding table that is wall mountable through aesthetic components that contribute to the décor of the area. As a result, many of the limitations imposed by the prior art are removed.